Worth the Fighting For, by John McCain: on Principles & Values
Admiral McCain’s health failed after retiring from the Navy
We buried my father on a morning in the early spring of 1981. He had died of heart failure five days before, over the Atlantic, with my mother, his wife of 48 years, by his side. He had been in poor health for most of the nine years that had passed since
he had reluctantly retired from the navy. I received a call from my former wife, Carol. Navy officials had contacted her after they had failed to locate me. I cannot recall what I was thinking, or anything I said to my wife, Cindy, during the 20-minut
drive to the air base, or what she said to me.
My mother greeted us as we entered the compartment. She was very composed, very matter-of-fact, as she informed me, “John, your father is dead.” My mother had dedicated her entire life to my father and his
career. She loved him greatly. But she is a strong woman, indomitable. No loss, no matter how grievous, could undo her. I remember little of the five days between that moment and the morning we buried him at Arlington National Cemetery.
Source: Worth the Fighting For, by John McCain, first chapter
Sep 24, 2002
Spent nearly 23 years on active duty in the Navy
My father’s death and funeral occurred at a moment of great change for me and for the tradition that had brought honor to three generations of John McCains. I had arrived at my mother’s apartment still wearing my dress blue uniform.
I would never wear it again.I left the funeral reception after an hour or so and drove to an office in a nondescript building in Crystal City, Virginia, with the typically bureaucratic title Navy Personnel Support Activity Center.
There I signed my discharge papers, applied for my retirement pay and health coverage, and turned in my identification card, ending nearly 23 years on active duty. For the first time in the twentieth century, and possibly forever, the name
John McCain was missing from navy rosters. From there, I drove to the airport and boarded a plane with Cindy and her parents for Phoenix, Arizona, and a new life altogether.
Source: Worth the Fighting For, by John McCain, first chapter
Sep 24, 2002
Political style is to be straightforward
Politicians with the longest and most successful careers are often whose who have ruffled the fewest feathers. They zigzag toward their goals, twisting around obstacles, taking care and time to acquire as few opponents as possible and as much support as
their success requires. I admire their patience and agility. I have too little of those attributes to work obliquely. God has given me heart enough for my ambitions, but too little forbearance to pursue them by routes other than a straight line.
Source: Worth the Fighting For, by John McCain, p. xvii
Sep 24, 2002
Principles are more important than personal happiness
I have an understanding that health, good fortune, long years, domestic tranquility, all the attributes of personal happiness, do not make a life well lived if we are afraid to
risk it all for the love of something finer, something bigger than our own desires.
Source: Worth the Fighting For, by John McCain, p. xxv
Sep 24, 2002
McCain embraced core Reagan values
I embraced all of the core Reagan convictions: faith in the individual; skepticism of government; free trade and vigorous capitalism; anticommunism; a strong defense; robust internationalism that championed
our values abroad; and most important, his eloquently stated belief in America’s national greatness, his trust in our historical exceptionalism, the shining city on the hill he invoked so often.
Source: Worth the Fighting For, by John McCain, p. 85
Sep 24, 2002
Page last updated: Feb 27, 2019